A completely impromptu, unofficial, unsanctioned library. In marina laundry rooms and restrooms all over, sailors drop off the books they are all finished with and pick up new material for the next leg of their journey. Sailors have been doing this for ages, long before freecycle and the internet. If you're lucky you can paw past the Danielle Steele and get some real gems. If you're super lucky, you might even get a hand written log of where that book has been or where it originated.
I remember discovering Carl Hiaasen in a marina somewhere along the South Carolina coast, and loving the company of his fast paced wit while we inched our way to Florida. And on many a cold winter night I have lucked on a dusty classic in these shelves, like Old Man And The Sea, to keep me warm.
The selection is always diverse. Just one sampling from our marina's book shelf and you can see the books range from Jane Eyre to Fly Fishing to to travel guides to dog training to Faulkner.
Here are the gems I found this week.
And I left a few favorites too, hoping they will find their way in to appreciative hands and under the gaze of hungry eyes.
Even though sailors are going more high tech these days, I hope this old tradition never dies.
5 comments:
I think this is a beautiful, simple tradition. Thanks for sharing. I think your life is fascinating. I'm new to your blog. How long have you been living on a boat and how to you create an income? And what was you life like pre-boat? And why am I asking so many questions?
It's more than ok to ask questions. We have been living aboard for 11 years now. My husband and I had a smaller catamaran before our son was born and we traveled in 2001-2002 on that one. Then we came back, I got pregnant, and we bought a bigger boat.
My husband has a regular 9-to-5 government job he commutes to. I used to work as a TV producer/ director and switched to script writing and magazine writing when my son was born so I could stay home with him and work at night. When we're out cruising, we don't work. We just live frugally so we can save up enough to take off and travel.
I moved aboard when I was 25, so pre-boat we lived in a small apartment with not much except the dog. We've never owned a house.
Thanks for stopping in! Feel free to comment and question as much as you'd like!
You sure found some gems there!!
I don't believe I have ever noticed this little library by the sea, but how wonderful that it exists!
You are living the life, friend. But, you already know that...
The view alone is worth its weight in gold!!!
Big smiles to you, Boatbaby!
Those look like some good books! Of course, The Great Gatsby...
So you are docked most of the time and sail when you get vacations?
What a great tradition...I can see why you'd want it to stick around even with the technological alternatives.
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